Ceiling construction and slab therefor



' c. FfnAvls ET AL ,969

CEILING CONSTRUCTION AND SLAB THEREFOR Dec. 28, 1937.

5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS Filed July 19, 1935 D86. 28, I c; F DAVIS ET AL CEILING CONSTRUCTION AND SLAB THEREFOR Filed July 19, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS 5) i g V! l ATTORNEY.

-c. F. DAVIS ET AL .CEILING CONSTRUCTION AND SLAB THEREFOR Filed July 19, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS 6/0 5. 5 905,

c. F. DAVIS ET AL 2,103,969

CEILING CONSTRUCTION AND SLAB THEREFOR Dec. 28, 1937.

Filed July 19, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 r llllllh IIIILIIIIII Kym.--

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lllllllllllllll IIIIII Dec. 28, 1937. DAVIS H A. 2,103,969

CEILING CONSTRUCTION AND SLAB THEREFOR Filed July '19 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 day/v 615F056;

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1 .10 spacing to carry the same.

- 30 support.

Patented Dec. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CEILING CONSTRUCTION AND SLAB THEREFOR Delaware Application July 19, 1935, Serial No. 32,166

13 Claims.

The present invention relates to a building construction including a ceiling made or composed of precast units and to the units going to make up such construction.

The principal objectv of the invention is the provision of a ceiling construction of the above type which maybe erected without difiiculty, which will have desirable rigidity and which does not require any special beam or ceiling support Another important object of the invention is the provision of slabs of the precast type which maybe cheaply manufactured, which may be erected to form a ceiling with minimum fitting but which, when so erected, will insure a fiat ceiling, such units being so constructed that they may be picked up and suspended from an overhead support at any point without regard to such support spacing.

To this end, the invention contemplates in a ceiling construction a series of precast slab units the opposite edges of which are provided with complementarily engaging parts so as to permit the centering of one slab edge against its previously erected neighbor. These complementarily engaging parts on adjacent slab edges may or may not constitute a support for theedge of the slab being erected, although in all cases interengaging edges will assist materially in such It is contemplated that each slab will be hung primarily from near one longitudinal edge and that edge the one away from the row of slabs previously erected. In order to temporarily support the opposite longitudinal edge of the slab being erected, means are provided supporting means at the opposite edge of the slab is being engaged. Where such temporary supports remain in place, as they usually do,

they assist materially in contributing to the support of the entire slab.

Means are provided on the slabs to engage the hanger means in any desired location without regard to the overhead-supports from which the hangers are suspended. As a result thereof, no special support spacing is required.

a After a slab has been erected in place, removable dowels in the slab may then be driven partially therefrom into its previously erected neighbor, which contributes materially to the rigidity of the entire structure to maintain a 'flat ceiling where the development of cracks 55 after being finished is reduced to a minimum.v

and which will take a set.

The invention further consists in the specific slabs going to make up such a ceiling.

The invention also consists in the novel arrangement, construction and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a ceiling slab constructed according to this invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial perspective of a section of ceiling showing the manner of erecting the individual slabs;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3a is a perspective view of an embedded stirrup;

Fig. 4 is a sectional 'view along the line l4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a partial perspective view of a slab showing a modified hanging means;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of amodified form of slab;

Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation. along the line 'l-'l of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view along the line 8-8 of Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of a modified form of slab; 1

'Fig. 10 is asectional view along the line Ill-I0 of Fig. 9; r I

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of a modified form of slab; r

Fig. 12 is a perspective'view of a section of a ceiling showing the manner of using the slab of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a transverse sectional view of the slab of Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 is a sectional view along the line I4--l4 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the hanger engaging means of the slab of Fig. 11.

Referring now with particularity to that type of slab shown in Fig. l, the slabbody is shown at l of any desired material which may be cast Such a cementitious material as gypsum is admirably adapted for this use either with'or without fillers. Suitably embedded in the'slab' body at the time of casting are two longitudinal reinforcements 2. These may be of any desired type, although elements of a channel nature are desired because of cheapness, strength and other considerations which will appear as the description proceeds.

Hanger. engaging means are provided in the form of an inverted stirrup element, one of which is shown in Fig; 3 at 3 with its main body emplanes at right angles to each other and projecting slightly above the surface of the slab.

Othershorter stirrups 1 are provided in the same slab having a. similar configuration to thatjust described, although of less extent. These shorter stirrups I are likewise provided with loops 5 as in the case of the longer elements 3'.

It is desirable that the opposite longitudinal and lateral edges of each slab be provided with complementary configurations. This may 'take the form of tongues and grooves 9 or theshiplaps shown in the slab of Fig. '6 or any combination thereof. The tongues 8 and grooves '9 are preferred on thelongitudin'al edges'for reasons which will presently appear.

When erecting slabs of this character to form a ceiling, the first row may be suspended by hangerssuch as that shown at H! in Fig. 3 engaging the loops 6 atone end and a furring channel H which is, in turn, suspended from a beam l2 by intermediate member l3 or the hanger If] may engage the beam l2 direct as shown in Fig. 4. At the other edge of the slab an elongated rod I4 having an oiTset portion I5 is threaded through at least two of the loops 5' in the manner shown in Fig. 2 and the end of the hanger H1 engaged therewith. The hanger I may, of course, either be supported from the furring or beam as the casem'ay be. Due to the fact that the rod M may be of any desiredlength or placed between two "or more loops 5, a considerable flexibility of location ispermitted, and the hanger 1!] may hook onto the overhead support at the nearest location without regard to any special spacing of suchsupports. This is a very-desirable feature.

Each slab is provided, at the time of casting, with a removable dowel 16 (Fig. 3); the end of which is indicated at I1 in Fig. 2. When the first slab has been erected, a nail set' o'r the like is placed against the end I! of the dowel f6 and by means of a hammer, the dowel is partially driven from the slab in which it occurs into the wall against which the first slab is erected.

After the first row of slabs has been thus erected, a second row is begun. This is well represented by the slab B of Fig. 2, where the slab A represents one of the first row. One l'ongi-tudinal-edge of the slab B is placed adjacent the edge of the slab A and by reasonof the complementary tongue and groove there, the slab B is definitely centered on the previously erected slab. An elongated rod 18 is then "passed through the slab B;

one end of said rod extending over the top of slab A. 'If preferred, the rod [-8 may be inserted through the loop 6 prior to placing slab B in position, whichever may be found most. expedient. Inasmuch'as each slab is provided iw'ithsat least twoof the loops 6 as shown in Fig. -1, such slab is temporarily supported in the. proper location by -means'of these rods l8 assisted by the complementary tongue and groove without effort by the workman. A hanger engaging element l as above described is then passed; throughloops 5 at the oppositeedge of the slab B and the hanger Ill made to engage this rod and the overhead support in the manner described in connection with slab A. Any suitable number of rods l4 may be used, dependent upon the length of the slab. After such slab has been erected, its dowel or dowels may then be partially driven therefrom into the slab A, all of which serves to more or less permanently secure the slabs together to form aparticularly rigid ceiling having a perfectly flat ,undersurface. a result of this construction, when such a surface is plastered, as is usual, there is a minimum tendency to develop cracks due to the fact that each slab is tied to its neighbor and the whole contributes to the rigidity of length of the slab and near one edge thereof. In r such case, therod 14 may be made to pass beneath any two or moreexposed portions of the stirrups I and the hanger lfl'engaged therewith as before. In such a slab, the same system of temporary support by a short rod 18 in engagement with the loop 6 is likewise provided.

, In this case, the slab may-be provided with complementary shoulders 22 and 23 forming shiplaps which 'material-ly'assist in locating the edge of the slab being presently erected, while at the-":

same time assisting in the support of that edge.

The loop- 6' may be formed as a part of along stirrup 3 as in Fig. 3 or by means of a. spring clip as. shown in Figs. 13 and .14, which will be'more fully described hereinafter.

In Fig. 9,'long stirrups 3 and two channels 2| are used. This enables two series of hangers ID to be used in place of the single series inFig. 7.

In this case, it is :desirable'to formthe loops 6 by means of a spring clip having spaced apart legs 24 sprung into holes in a longitudinal rein- 'forcement 2. Thisis shown in more detail, in 'Fig. 14; This makes possible the use of the short rod 18 in erection.

Another desirable form of slab is shown in .Figs. 1-1 to inclusive wherein in place of .the

stirrups and the rod M, a hanger engaging elerrnent 25 of sheet or strip metal is used. In this form'of construction, the hanger 25 is provided with downwardly extending ears 26 perforated as at 21 tojreceive the dowels 6, which serves to tie the hanger into the slab in the proper :location. Intermediate -the ears 26 the hanger engaging elementis of -a narrower width and provided with a series of perforations 28 to receive the'ha'nger l0 wherever it may occur. The upper portion of thehanger engaging element 25 preferably though not necessarily projects within the channel 2|. V

This presenttyp'e of slabis erected in the "same finanne'r as those previously described, making use of the rods l8 passing through the loops 6, etc. As to theuse of dowels in suchslabs, obviously'anyn'umber may be used depending 'upon the lengthof such slabs and these dowels serve not only to tie the slabs together but-also as lat- '--eral reinforcements during handling and after erection.

:While theinvention has beenshown "and 'described with reference to I particular embodiments, yet these are to be taken as illustrative only and the invention is to be construed broadly and limited only by the scope of the claims.

We claim:

1. A ceiling comprising a plurality of precast slabs, one of said slabs being hung from an overhead support, a second slab adjacent the first slab and having support receiving means partially projecting from the face thereof, and supporting means passing beneath the receiving means and projecting onto the top of the first slab, whereby the second slab is at least partially supported at one edge by the first slab, and. means to hang the opposite edge of the second slab from an overhead support.

2. The ceiling of claim 1 in which the support receiving means includes a loop.

3. The ceiling of claim 1 in which the support receiving means includes a loop and the supporting means includes an elongated element passing through the said loop and projecting over the first slab.

4. The ceiling of claim 1 with complementary means on the adjacent edges of the two slabs to center the edge of the second slab on the first slab.

5. The ceiling of claim 1 with a dowel in the second slab partially embedded in the first slab.

6. A precast slab of set cementitious material having a plurality of stirrup elements embedded therein, a portion of each stirrup being exposed and a hanger engaging element threaded beneath the exposed portions of at least two stirrups in which the slab is provided with a longitudinal channel in one face thereof, each stirrup extending across said channel.

7. A precast slab of set cementitious material having a plurality of stirrup elements embedded therein, a portion of each stirrup being exposed and a hanger engaging element threaded beneath the exposed portions of at least two stirrups in which the slab is provided with a longitudinal channel in one face thereof, each stirrup extending across said channel, the slab being shiplapped.

8. A precast slab of set cementitious material having an inverted stirrup element embedded therein, said element having two loops formed therein and projecting above the slab face, the plane of one loop being at right angles to the plane of the other loop.

9. A precast slab of set cementitious material having a longitudinal channel in one face thereof and a hanger engaging element partially embedded in said slab and bridging said channel crosswise thereof.

10. A precast slab of set cementitious material having a longitudinal channel in one face thereof and a hanger engaging element partially embedded in said slab and projecting into said channel in which the hanger engaging element is perforated Within the channel.

11. The slab of claim 9 with a dowel also embedded in the slab and passing through the lower end of said hanger engaging element.

12. The slab of claim 9 said hanger engaging element comprising a strip of metal having a row of perforations therein and depending ears penetrated by lateral dowels embedded in said slab.

13. The slab of claim 9 with a longitudinal reinforcement in said slab and a clip secured thereto and having a portion projecting above the face of said slab.

CLARKE F. DAVIS. JOHN G. BRUSH. LYLE K. MAYNE. 

